Easy quince cheese recipe (membrillo)
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Fruit, Jam Jelly and Preserves, Vegetarian | 156 comments
I’m back at the helm and it’s marvellous to be feeling well and chirpy and slimmer. Forget Champneys. A week in bed with a bug does wonders for the figure.
Danny put on his sensible parent hat this morning. He instructed me not to go to work, reasoning that more recuperation was required. He was right. I did feel weak.
This afternoon, he relented slightly.
“Why not go out foraging for an hour. You could do with some fresh air.”
He passed me the foraging stick, tossed me his car keys and disappeared upstairs.
I found some plump sloes and with the help of the walking stick accessed branches that only a seven foot giant could reach. The crab apple tree had a small final harvest. Being north facing its fruit had not spoiled. I tootled home and simmered the crab apples with chillies to make a hot jelly (recipe later this week if it turns out well).
My main aim today was to make some quince cheese. The quinces had been cooked and strained for jelly the week before last. The juice and flesh keep well in the fridge for up to two weeks. Today was the last day.
When I discovered membrillo at the Spanish Deli in Portobello Road I was delighted. I love the combination of membrillo and Manchego. Danny wasn’t impressed. His face crumpled when he tasted it.
“It’s so sweet. How can you like it?”
I was pretty sure that membrillo needn’t be so sweet. I looked at various recipes on the internet. The amount of sugar varied enormously. In the end I decided to plump for an equal volume of quince pulp to sugar. This has produced a membrillo that is sweet but tastes of quince. I reckon that one could get away with even less sugar in fact when I looked in my copy of Oded Schwartz, his recipe uses slightly less – 50g less. Adding the lemon juice made a difference too.
They key to this recipe is time. I simmered the quinces for at least three hours until they became a deep pink colour. The final stage is a long process too. The quince pulp and sugar was simmered gently (lowest setting) for a good 2-3 hours to intensify the colour and thicken the pulp to the right consistency. There is no need to bring the mixture to a rolling boil. This is a recipe that is spread over two evenings. One evening simmer the quinces and strain overnight. The next evening make the membrillo.
Danny tasted it gave the recipe the thumbs up, especially when he realised that the by product is the juice for quince jelly.
Easy quince cheese recipe (membrillo)
Ingredients:
For the quince pulp:
- 1 kilo of quinces
- Zest of half a lemon
- Water to cover
For the quince cheese:
- Quince pulp
- Juice of half a lemon
- Granulated (not castor) white sugar (equal volume to the pulp)
Method:
- Rub the down off the quinces and wash them. There is no need to peel or core the quinces.
- Chop the quinces carefully, as they are hard it is easy for the knife to slip. I chopped them into quarters and sliced them into 1cm slices.
- Place the quince slices in a large saucepan or casserole dish and add water so that they are just floating. Add the zest of half a lemon.
- Bring slowly to the boil and then turn the hob down to it’s lowest setting so that the quinces gently simmer (lid on). Simmer the fruit until very soft and the fruit has turned a deep pink colour. This took me about 3 hours. Check the quinces every now and then and top up the water if necessary.
- Strain the juice from the fruit overnight using a jelly bag or muslin square. Retain the juice to make quince jelly.
- I was loathe to spend hours pressing the quinces through a sieve so I put them through the Magimix
(medium grater blade) and then I sieved them.
- Measure the pulp using a measuring jug put the pulp into a large heavy bottomed saucepan or casserole dish and add an equal volume of white granulated sugar. Add the juice of half a lemon.
- Bring the pulp and sugar gradually to simmering point, stirring to dissolve the sugar and let it simmer, lowest setting for 2-3 hours, stirring every now and then to stop it sticking and burning. It will resemble gloopy mud. Gradually the colour will darken. Eventually the fruit will become very thick (I could stand my spoon up in mine).
- Spoon into well oiled sterilised straight sided jars and seal with cellophane lids. This will keep for months. Cut slices to eat with cheese or cold meat. Refrigerate after opening.
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Just thought I would check Quince recipes as I have made quince jelly for years. Sadly always thrown the pulp away. My quinces are simmering on the cooker as we speak. Instead of making quince jelly with the strained juices I make a blended jelly, with apples & cranberries. Absolutely delicious at Christmas with the turkey! As an added extra some Port is good
Question…When you make the cheese/membrillo what is the best way to store? I see the wrapped in muslin method but do you need anything else, eg sealed box etc
We have an abundance of quince. The trees are so full the limbs are drooping and the quince are large. We have made quince jelly and quince cake from them. I was searching for more ways to use the quince. (other than letting the deer eat them all. I found your recipe and I am set to give it a try come morning. Thanks to you and the reader comments Thanks.
OK, finally got around to doing something with the quince i carefully quartered and slow cooked last week. I decided to have a go at the quince cheese, (membrillo) it seemed easy enough to follow. I didn’t quite see the need to press the cooked pieces through a sieve so i got out an electric mixer and beat it up to a smooth paste, like cake mixture then added the sugar and lemon juice and simmered for 2 and half hours, it resembled thick dark red goo, i spooned into ramekins and covered with a greaseproof paper disc until cool then put into the fridge to keep, i couldn’t wait to have a prod this morning and wow it worked, nicely set and ready to slice as i need it… thanks.
Hi Rachel
I am very late in responding to your comment. But I wondering whether you retrieved your pulp? I don’t know what I would have done in your circumstances, probably left it as our compost bin is pretty yucky.
Hi Jubliant Cerise
Too late now again but yes as you have to sieve the ingredients.
Hi Dean
Sorry I don’t but loads of gardens have a japonica bush and these often have fruit. The japonica quince have fruit (smaller and roundish – like a small oddly formed apple) they taste just the same.
Hi Jan
Great that you are finding the site useful! Love the idea of putting the quinces in the linen cupboard and the reactions to the jelly!
Sweet chestnuts? We have a very good ‘jam’ – https://www.cottagesmallholder.com/?p=97
Hello Jane H
I think that your idea of a pressure cooker is a god one. Energy saving etc. I enjoy my slow cooker (crock pot) and the fragrance of the contents. Thanks for the tip on marmalade making!
Never cut down a quince tree. It gives you the best fruit. From membrillo to marmalade and jelly. A monarch in the real sense of the word. Loved the idea of surviving the credit crunch but seriously ring around local greengrocers and butcher’s shops. They might welcome you with open arms.
Hi aarcymorgan
Great idea. I must try this. Thanks for dropping by.
Cook the quince in a 325 0ven and stir off and on. No splatters. I do all fruit butters on the oven.
srcy
I’ve enjoyed the Membrillo string of messages and am off now to turn my quinces into membrillo and jelly.
I’m surprised though that no one so far has mentioned using a pressure cooker to soften the fruit (no need to peel or core – just quarter and check there’s no brown on them). It’s the cooking method I’ve always used to cook oranges for marmalade (they go straight in whole into the pan to cook) and it’s failsafe for that.
The site has been an eyeopener for what quinces were selling for last year – £1 a quince or $2 a quince!! We were going to chop our over-large tree down but I think not now… Maybe we’ve found own personal answer to the recession?
Goodness, aren’t search engines wonderful? I just typed in “Quince” and there you are. What a wonderful discovery. We live in Italy, and some lovely new friends appeared at our door yesterday with a trayful of “mele di cotogne” (quinces)and enthusiastic explanations of how to use them – I decided back up my dodgy Italian with hard facts and found you and the word I couldn’t bring to mind – membrillo. My little Italian kitchen will be full of new favours today, and I shall be using the big fat lemons another of my lovely neighbours brings me. We have a great arrangement here – the locals tell me how they cook things – game, vegetables, hedgerow fruits, etc., I tell them how the English cook them, they look sceptical and we all sample each others cooking. Jars of marmalade and hot cross buns have gone down well, but jugged hare was not well received – “You eat JAM with meat?” (redcurrant jelly)I can’t wait to know how the membrillo and quince jelly turn out. It’s a real recipe exchange club. In the meantime, I shall be putting the sounder fruit in with my freshly laundered linen and getting (so I am told) the real scent of the country through the house. Thankyou for your website – a real discovery. Have you any advice on how to cope with the massive harvest of sweet chestnuts?
Does any know of a store or a farm in Leeds area who sells Quince
So glad I checked your site before doing quince jelly this year – I’m totally keeping the pulp for making cheese! But I’m wondering: it’s ok to leave the seeds in?
wish I’d read this before chucking my quince pulp away after making jelly – would it be very wrong to retrieve it from the compost?